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COVID-19 and the repercussions of the closing of decentralised slot machines and gambling arcades in Finland in 2020 and 2021 Riitta Matilainen   How to cite: Matilainen, R. (2021). COVID-19 and the Repercussions of the closing of Decentralised Slot Machines and Gambling Arcades in Finland in 2020 and 2021. Critical Gambling Studies . https://doi.org/10.29173/cgs114 This non-peer reviewed entry is published as part of the Critical Gambling Studies Blog.   COVID-19 and other restrictions on gambling on slot machines Finland is a small Nordic welfare state with a population of 5.5 million that is among the biggest gambling nations in the world and that has the only gambling monopoly in the European Union. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and without historical precedent), Veikkaus (Finland’s gambling monopoly holder) shut down both decentralised slot machines and gambling arcades on March 13, 2020. They re-opened the gambling arcades in June 2020 and the decentralised slot machine